This page is a compendium of items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, damnable prevarications, rants and amusing anecdotes - about LAUSD and/or public education that didn't - or haven't yet - made it into the "real" 4LAKids blog and weekly e-newsletter at http://www.4LAKids.blogspot.com . 4LAKidsNews will be updated at arbitrary random intervals.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION'S GLOBAL GAP

16 December 2015::The topic of "vocational
education" often has a recurrent theme.

Everyone says it's a good thing and it's vital for the
economy. But - and there is always a but, it's still the academic pathway that
has the higher status.

As the saying goes, vocational education is a great thing…
for other people's children.

Another side of this conundrum is that there is more need
for vocational education than ever before.

Youth unemployment, particularly among those without
training or qualifications, is a scourge in many countries. But at the same
time employers are warning about skills shortages and not being able to find
the right staff.

And a major report commissioned by the City and Guilds
group, which provides vocational qualifications, shows how this
"mismatch" is an international problem.

"Globally, the stigma of vocational education often
reduces it to a second choice to academia," concludes the study, carried
out by the Centre for Business and Economics Research.

The expansion in university numbers - in developed and
developing countries - has been a global phenomenon.

India is forecast to become the world's biggest producer of
graduates - even overtaking China.

But the report highlights that the real challenge for
India's economic ambitions is the shortfall in vocational skills.

India's rising population will see its labour force growing
by 32% in the next two decades - with tens of millions more young people
needing to find jobs.

But at present only 2.3% of the workforce have had formal skills
training, compared with 80% in Germany.

The report argues that India will not be able to sustain its
economic growth without better incentives for vocational education.

As employment switches from agriculture to sectors such as
construction and the motor industry, there will be a need for millions more
trained workers.

The report highlights some of the attitudes that might stand
in the way, such as the "mindset" of Indian parents who focus on
getting their children into university and who associate vocational skills with
lower status jobs.

APPRENTICES... YOU'RE HIRED

In the United States, last month saw the first National
Apprenticeship Week, aimed at raising the profile of vocational training.

But the report shows that it's an uphill battle. There are
currently 410,000 apprentices in the US - less than half the number in the UK.

Despite research showing a shortage of five million staff
with technical skills, the study says that there is still a strong bias in the
US system towards academic subjects.

Policymakers, teachers and careers advisers are accused of
seeing "success" only in terms of getting more young people into
university, despite concerns about the level of student debt.

Implementing change in the US vocational education system is
even harder when it's such a fragmented system. The accreditation of trades can
be at state, regional or city level, with qualifications not necessarily
recognised in other parts of the country.

The research calls for a "robust, high-quality
alternative to the traditional college path".

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

In South Africa, qualifications, whether academic or
vocational, are seen as a major advantage in the labour market.

This is a country with a 54% youth unemployment rate - and
at the same time a survey of the country's business leaders found high levels
of concern about a lack of skilled workers.

As well as the individual and economic waste, such a high
level of youth unemployment is seen as threatening "social
disruption".

There are ambitions in South Africa to expand both
university and vocational training. There is a plan to have 2.5 million places
in vocational colleges in the next 20 years, a fourfold increase.

If this can be delivered there will be a strong return on
the investment, says the study.

But there is a warning of the risk of a mismatch between
what people are studying and the needs of employers.

For instance, it says there is a surplus of trainees in
sales, communications and auditing, when the real shortage is for electricians
and other technical skills

.

STATUS AND 'STIGMA'

In the UK, the study says there has been progress in
improving the recognition of vocational education and getting rid of some
qualifications with little value to employers.

There is a target for three million apprentices and the
report argues that investing in vocational skills will yield a substantial
long-term benefit to the UK economy, cutting unemployment and boosting
productivity.

But it also warns of a training system that remains
over-complex, compared with the path from school to university.

And for the upper secondary age group, few young people in
the UK are learning vocational subjects by international standards.

The report also highlights the residual barriers, quoting
people who say there is a "negative perception" that vocational
courses are for those who could not succeed in academic subjects.